Chromecast with Google TV - Dolby Digital Plus not available

[prezi]

I have a problem with properly connecting the google chromecast to get 5.1 or 7.1 sound.

My connection looks like:

1. Chromecast connected with Samsung HT-e6750w by HDMI port
2. Samsung HT-e6750w connected with Sharp Aquos TV LC60LE635 by HDMI 2.1 cable to ARC port.

When I open chromecast sound options, I see only "Dolby Digital" is available, while "Dolby Digital Plus" is greyed out, as not supported by the receiver.

If I force "Dolby Digital Plus" option to be turned on, then no sound from the "Samsung HT-e6750w" is coming through. 

I checked in manual, and:
"Samsung HT-e6750w" supports "dolby digital plus"
"Sharp Aquos TV LC60LE635" doesn't support "dolby digital plus"

But I'm not sure if both, tv and home theater have to support DD+ or it is necessary only by home theater?

How to make 5.1 sound work in that configuration? I was trying to do everything, changing all possible audio and port options in samsung and sharp without luck.

Stereo sound is working normally, it can also play 5.1 while convert sound by prologic function.

[djtetei]

Ideally the Chromecast device should be connected to a TV with Dolby Digital Plus decoder built-in, which sends the audio further to the AV receiver or soundbar via ARC or eARC connectivity.

You Sharp TV model seems to have a built-in Dolby Digital Plus decoder, so try to connect the Chromecast device to the TV, enable HDMI CEC protocol and make the necessary settings to enable enhanced surround sound via ARC.

[prezi]

My SHARP doesn't support DD+ unfortunately. But anyway I was testing that set-up without luck.
While I connect directly with sharp, it even didn't recognize DD.
While connected by Home theater it recognize DD, but all rest systems are unsupported. 

Today I will take my Home theater to my friend, and I will try to connect it with his newer TV. I will let all know if it helps, so we will know if it depends from TV or it doesn't change anything.

[prezi]

I tested with another TV, that configurations:
1. Chromecast 4 -> TV (Samsung UE46F6320) <-HDMI ARC-> Home Theater (Samsung HT-e6750w)
2. Chromecast 4 -> Home Theater (Samsung HT-e6750w) <-HDMI ARC->  TV (Samsung UE46F6320)

Additional info:
Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) active on 3 devices

In both configuration there was no Dolby Digital support in chromecast, and when I forced that option, there was no sound. Why? Looks like 5.1 support is a crap in chromecast, and works only on paper.

[prezi]

@User123456 can you explain what is wrong with chromecast? Why you lie about 5.1 support in your devices?

[prezi]

@Lithium-Admin @ks-fede @ks-fedeSSO @kh-kate @Stefanie @Chelsea @RachelC 

[JenniferV]

Hi folks,

Thanks for answering, djtetei. 

Please let us know if you have other questions and concerns, Prezi. We're here to help.

Thanks,

Jennifer

[prezi]

I don't have other. I didn't solve actual questions 😞

[djtetei]

Dolby Digital surround 5.1 is available only if the video stream you are playing contains a Dolby Digital surround 5.1 soundtrack. Because it doesn't have a built-in Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Digital surround decoder, Chromecast with Google TV device will passtrough the audio stream to be decoded on a soundbar or AV receiver with built-in Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Digital surround decoder.

It must be said though that Dolby Digital Plus decoder can decode both the Dolby Digital Plus and the Dolby Digital surround stream, while a Dolby Digital surround decoder can decode only Dolby Digital surround.

You can also take into account the possibility of a HDMI handshake issue, which prevent the Chromecast and the soundbar to communicate correctly with each other.

[prezi]

Hi, I tested many hdmi cables, I even bought brand new 2.1 hdmi cable. My home theater have all possible codecs: Dolby Digital, Dolby ProLogic II, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS 96kHz/24bits, DTS, DTS-HD.
So as you can see, all should work, but it isn't. This means chromecast is not supporting 5.1 in most of cases, and under favorable conditions it can play surround, but if we count how many people are saying, it doesn't work, so I can suppose 5.1 support it's a crap.

[prezi]

I bought new TV Sony Bravia KE-85XH9096, and I tested this chromecast in that configuration:

Chromecast with Google TV  [HDMI1]->  TV Sony Bravia KE-85XH9096 <-HDMI3 ARC-> Home Theater Samsung HT-e6750w

And 5.1 works, chromecast recognized Dolby Digital Plus, and home theater played from all speakers. No optical connection required.

It means, that your TV have to support DD+. If your tv is old, you will not possible to play 5.1 sound even if your home theater supports it.

But now I connected it only for test purposes, because new TV have chromecast build in, so additional device is no longer necessary.

[Azarco]

Hey there,

Thanks for visiting the Community. 

Since this thread hasn't had activity in a while, we're going to close it to keep content fresh.

We hope you were able to get the help you need. If you still need assistance playing Dolby Digital Plus, you might want to check this link. Feel free to submit another post and provide as many details as possible so that others can lend a hand if you have additional questions.

Best,
Alex